The EU enlargement has been a major force in market liberalisation and legal harmonisation in Europe. The reduction of risk and increase of transparancy has drawn a still growing number of foreign investors to new EU markets. What has changed in doing business in the region since buying a brewery in Romania in the nineties and developing a windpark in Bulgaria in 2009? Which further changes to the legal framework can the EC make to stimulate trade and investment across the single internal market?

further point to be discussed in the light of the above:
- free movement of employment
- financial market developments

The European Commission's tax policy strategy was set out in a Communication in 2001. Thus, the main priority for tax policy addressed the concerns of individuals and businesses operating within the Internal Market by focusing on the elimination of tax obstacles to all forms of cross-border economic activity, in addition to continuing the fight against harmful tax competition as well as for the taxation of savings income. In the last years, the Commission focused on the exchange of information for tax purposes, the fight against harmful tax competition and the prestigious CCCTB project. However, the Commission should rather concentrate on the design of a European tax competition order, an increase in European tax competition, a reduction of cross border tax obstacles, and an enhancement of tax competitiveness to encourage economic growth.

Geschäftsführerin, Microsoft Österreich GmbH, Wien

Petra Jenner has been General Manager of Microsoft Austria since 1 February 2009. She is in charge of 340 employees and is responsible for the Austrian partner business system, which includes over 5,000 companies and around 5 billion euros added value. Her motto is "do as you would be done by". Before joining Microsoft Austria Jenner, who was born in Germany, worked from early 2004 in the management of the Israeli-American security specialists Check Point Software Technologies in Munich, where she was Regional Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; in 2008 she also took over responsibility for other countries in northern Europe, making her manager of the largest region in Europe. A business management and computer science graduate, Jenner had previously been managing director of Pitoval GmbH in Munich, and gained further experience from the 1990s onwards in companies such as iMediation, Informix Software and Sybase. In her free time she likes to travel, dance, ski and do yoga. She is married and moved to Vienna at the beginning of 2009.